Public Hearing on April 26, Regarding the Modification of the Brooklyn Bridge Park General Project Plan. Please Make Every Effort to Attend.

LEGAL NOTICE

NEW YORK STATE URBAN DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

D/B/A EMPIRE STATE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

AND

BROOKLYN BRIDGE PARK DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING TO BE HELD MONDAY, APRIL 26TH, 2010,

PURSUANT TO SECTION 16 OF THE NEW YORK STATE URBAN

DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION ACT IN CONNECTION WITH THE PROPOSED

BROOKLYN BRIDGE PARK CIVIC AND LAND USE IMPROVEMENT PROJECT

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a public hearing, open to all persons, will be held by the New York State Urban Development Corporation d/b/a Empire State Development Corporation (“ESDC” or the “Corporation”) and Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation pursuant to Section 16 of the New York State Urban Development Corporation Act (Chapter 174, Section 1, Laws of 1968, as amended; the “Act”) at the Polytechnic University, 5 MetroTech Center, Brooklyn, New York, in the Dibner Auditorium at said facility, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Monday, April 26th, 2010 to consider a proposed modification to the General Project Plan (the “General Project Plan”) for the Brooklyn Bridge Park Civic and Land Use Improvement Project (the “Project”).

The public hearing is for the purpose of: (1) informing the public about the modification; and (2) giving all interested persons an opportunity to be heard with respect to the proposed modification of the General Project Plan, pursuant to Section 16 of the Act.

Description of the Modification to the General Project Plan

The existing Modified General Project Plan (“GPP”) for the Project consists of the GPP and related findings adopted in July, 2005, affirmed as modified in January, 2007, and affirmed as further modified in December 2007 to permit Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation (“BBPDC”), a subsidiary of New York State Urban Development Corporation d/b/a Empire State Development Corporation (“ESDC”) to construct, operate, and maintain the Project, including the Brooklyn Bridge Park (the “Park”), and to develop certain parcels (the “Development Parcels”) within the Project site to produce revenue for the Park.

This additional proposed modification to the GPP is being proposed in order to expedite the completion of the Project with new funding and local control of the Project. BBPDC proposes to enter into ground leases or sub-ground leases and other necessary arrangements for the Park and the Development Parcels with a not-for-profit corporation, currently referred to as Brooklyn Bridge Park Operating Entity (“BBPOE”), which the City of New York (the “City”) will establish, or cause to be established, in order for BBPOE to be responsible for construction, operation, maintenance, and funding of the Project.

In order to continue the development of the Project, the City will provide $55 million to BBPOE for the construction of the Project, in accordance with the GPP, and related expenses. BBPOE, the City, and BBPDC intend to cooperate with respect to those parcels included in the Project that are currently owned by the City and others (collectively the “Other Parcels”) in order to create a seamless Park experience for Park visitors and, with respect to Other Parcels that are identified in the GPP as Development Parcels, new sources of revenue for the Park.

The ground leases, sub-ground leases and other necessary agreements will require that BBPOE assume operational control of, and financial responsibility for, the Park and the Development Parcels. BBPOE will control all revenues from the Park and the Development Parcels. BBPOE will oversee all planning, construction, maintenance, and operation of the Project, including the ability to designate and select developers for the Development Parcels and concessionaires and operators for the Park Parcels. BBPDC will assign or transfer to BBPOE, or enter such other agreements with BBPOE as necessary, to ensure that all construction and funding agreements currently in place with respect to BBPDC continue in effect and all funds currently held by or for BBPDC are controlled by BBPOE. BBPOE will receive an assignment of all revenues from the Park and Development Parcels.

The proposed draft modification to the GPP will not be final until after: (i) public comment has been collected and reviewed; (ii) the BBPDC Board has reviewed and approved proposed final documents at a later BBPDC Board meeting; and (iii) the ESDC Directors have reviewed and approved proposed final documents at a later ESDC Directors meeting.

Availability of the Proposed Modification to the General Project Plan The General Project Plan is available for viewing at the website www.brooklynbridgeparknyc.org/ Copies of the proposed modification to the General Project Plan are available, without charge, to any person requesting such copies at the Corporate Office of ESDC, 633 Third Avenue, New York, New York 10017 and is available for inspection by the general public between the hours of 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday (an appointment can be made by calling (212) 803-3822). Pursuant to Section 16(2) of the Act, ESDC and BBPDC also have filed a copy of the modified General Project Plan in the office of the Clerks of the New York County and Kings County, City of New York, and have provided copies thereof to the Mayor of the City of New York, the Borough President of the Borough of Brooklyn, the Chair of the City Planning Commission, and the Chair of Brooklyn Community Boards 2 and 6. Copies of the modified General Project Plan will also be available at the public hearing.

Receipt of Comments

Comments on the proposed modification to the General Project Plan and the proposed acquisition and disposition of properties are requested and may be made orally or in writing at the hearing on April 26th, 2010, or presented in writing to ESDC and BBPDC (a) electronically by e-mail at brooklynbridgepark@empire.state.ny.us or (b) in hardcopy at 633 Third Avenue, New York, New York 10017 (Attention: David Lowin) or by facsimile transmission to (212) 803 3838 on or before May 26th, 2010. Comments received after 5:00 p.m. on May 26th, 2010 will not be considered.

The Parks Department has proposed new regulations that would drastically limit the number of artists allowed to sell their work in Union Square and other Manhattan parks, according to Examiner.com

The Parks Department claims the rules will decrease congestion, but critics accuse the city of pushing out independent street artists in order to replace them with more lucrative vendors.

The Parks Department claims overcrowding is the reason for new artist restrictions (photo: Leslie Koch)

Fine artists-- known as "expressive matter vendors"-- have the right to sell their work in public spaces without paying the city a fee.

The latest Parks Department rules single out street artists and ignore other groups that contribute to the parks' congestion, many of which generate revenue for the city through permit, rental and sponsorship fees.

New rules marginalize local artists

The proposed restrictions will limit the number of artists who can sell their works in Manhattan's most popular parks.

Artists will compete on a first come, first served basis for just 18 spots in Union Square, 9 in Battery Park, 5 in Central Park South and 3 on the Highline.

Additionally, the Parks Department is limiting the physical space allotted to artists.

They must set up their stands in special areas marked with a Parks Department sticker.

By 11:00 AM on MONDAY APRIL 5. The Staten Island group will take the 11:30 AM Ferry to Manhattan and hand out flyers downtown, while walking to City Hall.

All participants are asked to be prepared to walk to City Hall.Other Borough's Groups are asked to be at City Hall by 1:30 PM

Press conference on the steps of City Hall at 2:00 PM calling on GNYC, Mayor, Governor, Open Space Advocate's and all elected officials to work together to save Pouch Camp.Signs and flyers will be distributed at Staten Island Borough Hall.

Troops from a borough other than Staten Island can march over the Brooklyn Bridge and meet at City Hall, at the Broadway entrance 1:30 PM

Please Distribute To All Your Lists!

Let's Make This A City Wide Effort !No Piece of land in NYC Is as important to our children

then Pouch Camp.....

1000's enjoy the chance to be outdoors and view natureat it's finest in New York City....

Winter, Spring, Summer and FallLet's save it for our kids sake, and for future generations ofThe Children Of New York City

Monday, March 29, 2010

Backin Januarya seal was spotted basking in the sun off Staten Island, and it was promptly featured in The Advance with a photo spread. Now Manhattan has its own posing seal! A photographer sentthe NY Post a shot of this Upper West Side seal, spotted at the end of West 64th Street on the Hudson. But how did he get up there? The paper says he likely rode the high tide. Pretty clever... but which borough has the cuterseal?

"The (closing) has also infuriated elected officials and advocates who note that the savings from the closure would be a measly $5,500 a year." - New York Daily News

New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation is slated to close Bayswater State Park in Far Rockaway, Queens on April 1. The move would save just $ 5,500 dollars annually towards the State's $ 9 billion budget gap. The 12 acre park is located at the western end of Mott Avenue. The Park is opened by a neighbor adjacent to the park. A Parks spokesperson told the Associated Press that their office is reviewing the possibility that some of the closed parks be proposed may remain open to visitors without being maintained. It is not yet clear if Bayswater could be one of those.It could be the first time in state history a park was completely shuttered.

Most of the land was once part of an estate built by early 20th century Wall Street financier Louis A. Heinsheimer.The land was home to the Maimonides Home for Children. That estate burned down in 1986 and the private land was transferred to the Trust For Public Land in return for the right to develop another tract further south near Bayswater Park. The property was managed by the Audubon Society for many years. (Photo: Barcelo for the Daily News)

His beloved park has the best fishing New York City has to offer, said Johnson, who has hooked striped bass, blue fish, porgies and the occasional blackfish there.

"I've spent many an hour, many a day here," said Johnson, 56, of Cambria Heights.

He had come on a recent weekday to throw in a line a few more times, he said, because the days of being allowed to fish there could be numbered.

As part of a drastic bid to plug a $9 billion budget deficit, the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation has chosen Bayswater as one of two state parks slated for closure.

If the budget, due April 1, is approved, this would be the first time in history a state park has been shuttered other than for seasonal closures, said agency spokesman Dan Keefe.

The closure would leave many city reel-casters without a fishing hole. It has also infuriated elected officials and advocates who note that the savings from the closure would be a measly $5,500 a year.

"In times like these we need our parks more than ever," said Geoffrey Croft, president of NYC Park Advocates.

The recession has forced many people to scale back on vacations, and families are instead relying on nearby public spaces for escape.

Jonathan Gaska, district manager of Community Board 14, called the closure "almost punitive."

Bayswater Point State Park comprises 12 acres at the tip of a peninsula in the Rockaways that juts out into the Mott Basin on the eastern shore of Jamaica Bay. The terrain is varied and includes beachfront, wetlands and woodlands. This diversity helps make it an ideal habitat for migrating and nesting birds. The goal of this park is to preserve the existing natural systems, and if feasible, restore what has been lost. Passive recreation, such as hiking and nature study, are encouraged. - Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation

Sunday, March 28, 2010

According to the Daily News more than 35 trees on Stuart Street in Marine Park, Brooklyn, were downed by the Nor'easter. According to the Parks Department, the park lost 53 trees in the storm. (Photo: Maisel/NY Daily News)

BROOKLYN

Don’t expect a lot of shade in Marine Park anytime soon.

The city Parks Department is so busy taking toppled trees away from the three-block greenfield between Avenues U and S that they have no plans to replace them, a move that will certainly leave neighborhood park goers baking in the sun this summer, according to Courier-Life Publications.

“Right now we’re taking the trees out of there,” Brooklyn Park and Recreation Manager Laurence Major said March 24 — two and a half weeks after the nor’easter wreaked havoc across the borough — adding that reforestation efforts for the park would be “something we will review and explore” in the future.

The city Parks Department didn’t have any good news either.

“It’s really too soon to discuss replanting strategies for those trees lost by the storm,” a Parks Department spokesman said. “They will be replaced, but we’re still assessing all of the areas affected.”

Major said that 53 trees were knocked over in Marine Park — which is already quite spartan when it comes to flaura and fauna. An additional 60 trees were knocked over in the surrounding neighborhood, Major explained, adding that the storm slayed 350 trees from Bay Ridge to Canarsie.

Right now all of these dead, broken evergreens and oaks are being dragged to Marine Park, which has become a makeshift morgue in the city’s clean up efforts.

The tree, which stood on the edge of Central Park between 92nd and 93rd Streets, crushed a parked car.

Lana Choi, the owner of the car, said she was working several blocks away when it happened.

"I was working the cash register when someone came in and said a giant tree had fallen on Fifth Avenue and shut down the streets. So I ran over hoping that my car was salvaged, but unfortunately it was the casualty," said Choi. "It was my first car during and after college. I was hoping it would last me a couple more years, but I guess this is the last of it."

Choi said officials told her it was the largest tree in Central Park.

She also said her insurance will not cover it.

The Central Park Conservancy's president said the tree is one of hundreds that have come down following high winds this winter.

"The notion they did this to satisfy me is truly a comical one." Robert Lederman - President of A.R.T.I.S.T

Art vendors and Parks Department officials are at odds over whether there should be a limit to the number of art stalls in high-traffic spots like the High Line, Union Square Park and Battery Park. NY1's Rebecca Spitz filed the following report.

To many, vendors selling everything from original artwork to photographs to knickknacks are an integral part of Manhattan's parks.

"The point of a public park is what you see here, all these vendors and the public," said street artist Kenneth Bondor.

Yet the Parks Department is proposing new regulations to make some of the most crowded spots in the city less dense by limiting the number of vendors there.

"Certain parts of parks have become very overcrowded and people trying to walk to or through the park have to walk through a gauntlet of vendors who don't have permits, aren't required to have permits, but just set up pretty much willy-nilly, wherever they like," said Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe.

The Parks Department is proposing limiting the number of so-called "expressive matter" vendors in popular spots like the High Line, Union Square Park and Battery Park.

Robert Lederman, one of the affected vendors, had harsh words for Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Benepe.

"They pose as the greatest patrons of the arts, constantly talking about public art and public parks. In reality, their full-time job is to privatize all the parks, to put corporate art in the parks and to eliminate artists’ freedom of expression," said Lederman.

Parks Department officials said they have been examining the overcrowding issue for years. Benepe said even if restrictions are imposed in some areas, there will still be 28,000 acres of park land where the vendors can set up shop.

“In fact, it was at the urging of Lederman that we created these rules in the first place," said Benepe. "He said, 'Why don’t you use the street vending regulations and just modify them to use in parks instead of just coming up with some kind of new permitting system?' So that’s what we did.”

Friday, March 26, 2010

(Photo: Farriella for Daily News) Forest Hills Girls soccer coach Bob Sprance shows the extensive wear and tear on field 5 at Flushing Meadows Corona Park. According to NYC Park Advocates the Parks Department has ignored dangerous conditions on numerous artificial turf fields in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park for more than four years.

QUEENS

Soccer referees are all torn up about the borough's worn-down fields,

The New York City Soccer Officials Association is boycotting four of nine fields at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park because of gaping tears in artificial turf, holes full of standing water and dangerous divots in the ground, according to the New York Daily News.

"We refuse to referee games on those fields," said Alan Wharton, president of the association. "It's a liability issue for us."

The group officiates Public School Athletic League games, as well as private school, college and club games. Without the referees, games cannot be scheduled on fields 1, 4, 5 or 6, leaving just four open for the northern Queens teams that compete at the park. The ninth field is a nonregulation- size children's field.

"They are not playable," said Bob Sprance, varsity girls coach at Forest Hills High School. "They must be repaired before somebody gets seriously hurt."

Fields 1 and 5 are artificial turf, and each has everal tears and ripped seams. The other two are dirt fields and are littered with bottle caps, glass and rocks.

"I go out with giant cones to mark the spots that the girls need to be aware of," said Keith Horan, varsity coach at the High School for Arts and Business in Corona. "It's plain dangerous."

April 23, 2010 at Chelsea Recreation Center, 430 West 25th Street, New

York, NY 10010 at 11:00 a.m. Persons seeking to testify are

requested to notify Laura LaVelle at (212) 360-1335 or

laura.lavelle@parks.nyc.gov. Persons who request that a sign language

interpreter or other reasonable accommodation be provided at the

hearing are asked to notify Laura LaVelle at the foregoing address by

April 8, 2010. Written comments and a tape recording of oral comments

received at the hearing will be available for public inspection,

within a reasonable time after receipt, between the hours of 9:00 a.m.

and 5:00 p.m. at The Arsenal, Room 313, telephone number (212)

360-1313.

These amendments were not included in the Parks regulatory agenda

because the Department was not aware of the necessity for amendments

at the time the regulatory agenda was prepared.

New material is indicated by underlining. Deletions are indicated by brackets.

Section 1. Section 1-02 of Title 56 of the Official Compilation of the Rules of the City of New York is amended to add a new definition to read as follows:

Expressive Matter. “Expressive matter” means materials or objects with expressive content, such as newspapers, books, or writings, or visual art such as paintings, prints, photography, or sculpture.

§ 2. Section 1-05(b) of Title 56 of the Official Compilation of the Rules of the City of New York is amended to read as follows:

§ 1-05

(b) Unlawful Vending.

(1) No person in or on any property under the jurisdiction of the Department [park, or street adjacent to or abutting a park (including all public sidewalks of such abutting streets)] shall sell, offer for sale, hire, lease or let anything whatsoever, or provide or offer to provide services or items in exchange for a donation (hereinafter “vend”), except under and within the terms of a permit, or except as otherwise provided by law. For the purposes of this entire section, persons who vend as defined herein may be referred to as “vendor” or “vendors.”

(2) Persons may vend expressive matter, as defined in section 1-02 of this title, on property under jurisdiction of the Department without a permit, but must comply with all applicable provisions of these rules. However, in the specific locations enumerated in paragraph (3) expressive matter vendors may only vend expressive matter at the specifically designated spots identified by the Commissioner in the accompanying maps and as marked by a numbered Department decal, or other form of marking, on the specific location of the approved vending spot. These spots shall be allocated upon a first come, first serve basis except as otherwise provided by law and any expressive matter vendor may only vend expressive matter directly behind the numbered Department decal. Only one expressive matter vendor is authorized to vend directly behind the numbered Department decal and if multiple expressive vendors attempt to vend expressive matter at any one numbered Department decal, then all such expressive matter vendors at such spot will be in violation of this section and may be directed to leave the area of that numbered Department decal immediately. Any such expressive matter vendor failing to leave the area of the numbered Department decal immediately upon direction as required under the preceding sentence will be in violation of these rules.

(3) Specifically designated spots for expressive matter vendors are located in the following general areas, and are specifically depicted on the accompanying maps:

(i) Central Park at the following locations: (A) the perimeter of the Park between East 85th Street and East 60th Street, (B) the perimeter of the park between West 86th Street and West 60th Street, (C) all of Central Park South, (D) Wien Walk and Wallach Walk, (E) East Drive, (F) Grand Army Plaza, (G) Pulitzer Plaza, and (H) Columbus Circle.

(ii) Battery Park, including all perimeter sidewalks.

(iii) Union Square Park, including all perimeter sidewalks.

(iv) Elevated portions of High Line Park.

(4)(i) No vendor in or on any property under the jurisdiction of the Department shall allow any item or items used or offered in conjunction with vending to touch, lean against or be affixed permanently or temporarily to any street or park furniture installed on public property or any rock formation, tree, shrub or other planting.

(ii) No vendor shall block any patron from using any street or park furniture installed on public property by way of the vending activity.

(iii) No vendor shall vend anything in such a manner that would damage or otherwise injure Department property, including, but not limited to lawns, plants, animals or buildings.

(iv) No vendor shall vend anything that is placed immediately on a sidewalk or park path, or on a blanket or board placed immediately upon such surface or on the top of a trash receptacle or cardboard box.

(vi) No vendor shall vend anything whatsoever directly from any parked or double parked motor vehicles except for food vendors with appropriate Department and New York City Department of Heath and Mental Hygiene permits.

(i) provides less than a twelve (12) foot wide clear pedestrian path measured from the display on the sidewalk or park path to the opposite edge of the sidewalk or park path, except that when there is street or park furniture on the pedestrian path the measurement must be taken from the display to two feet from the street or park furniture in order to determine whether there is less then a twelve (12) foot wide clear pedestrian path;

(ii) is placed on any other part of a sidewalk under the Department’s jurisdiction other than that which abuts the curb, unless otherwise authorized;

(iii) is in an unsuitable location because the location is a specialized area including, but not limited to, a zoo, swimming pool, playground, athletic field or court, or skating rink;

(v) is within five (5) feet from any street or park furniture, public telephone, disabled access ramp, tree, or from individuals or entities authorized by permit or license by the Commissioner to operate at a specific location;

(vi) is within ten (10) feet from any crosswalk on any path or on any sidewalk under the jurisdiction of the Department;

(vii) is placed within fifty (50) feet from any monument or other public art installation;

(viii) occupies more than eight (8) linear feet of public space parallel to the curb or park path;

(ix) occupies more than three (3) linear feet in depth;

(x) is more than five (5) feet high or less than twenty-four (24) inches above the sidewalk or park path where the display surface is parallel to the sidewalk or park path, and may not be less than twelve (12) inches above the sidewalk or park path where the display surface is vertical;

(xi) where a rack or other display structure is placed on the top or above a table or other base, the size of the base is not less than the size of any rack or display structure placed thereon. Nothing shall be placed on the base so as to exceed the size limitations contained in this section;

(xii) uses any areas other than that area immediately beneath the surface of the display stand for the storage of items for sale, unless permitted by Department license or permit for the use of a fixed location to store items for sale; or

(xiii) fails to use an opaque covering to shield any items stored beneath the surface of the display stand.

(6) For the purposes of this section a display stand shall mean a movable, portable or collapsible structure, framework, device, container or other contrivance used by a vendor in any property under the jurisdiction of the Department for the purpose of displaying, keeping or storing any goods, wares, merchandise, foodstuffs or expressive matter.

(7) For the purposes of this section, street or park furniture shall mean any City-installed, maintained or approved structure, including but not limited to, benches, newspaper boxes, tree guards, fire hydrants, trash receptacles, telephone kiosks, newsstands, bus shelters, barricades, bollards, traffic signs, traffic lights, walls, water fountains, ornamental fountains, or fences located in any property under the jurisdiction of the Department.

(8) Whereexigent circumstances exist and a Department employee or police officer gives notice to a vendor to move temporarily from any location such vendor shall not vend from such location. For the purposes of this section, exigent circumstances shall include, but not be limited to, unusually heavy pedestrian or vehicular traffic, the existence of any obstruction in the park, an accident, fire, or other emergency situation, a parade, special event, demonstration, construction project, maintenance operations, or other such event at or near such location, including periods of set up and take down for such exigent circumstances.

STATEMENT OF BASIS AND PURPOSE

These rules are promulgated pursuant to the authority of

the Commissioner of the Department of Parks and Recreation (the

“Commissioner”) under sections 389, 533(a)(9) and 1043 of the New York

City Charter. The Commissioner is authorized to establish and enforce

rules for the use, governance and protection of public parks and of

all property under the charge or control of the Department of Parks

and Recreation.

The proposed rules provide reasonable opportunities – by and through

limited time, place, and manner restrictions – for expressive matter

vendors to display and sell their wares on parkland. These rules not

only provide greater clarity for vendors regarding where and how they

can operate on parkland, they also ensure that our parks do not become

so congested that they do not provide the public with enjoyable and

accessible open space.

The Department determined that it was necessary to promulgate these

rules to address concerns raised by park visitors, vendors, and other

members of the public, as well as Department staff, related to the

proliferation, in certain parks, of expressive matter vendors and the

impact they can have on parkland and other park visitors. In fact, in

the absence of Department rules regarding expressive matter vendors,

the number of these vendors combined for Battery Park, Central Park,

and Union Square Park has almost tripled since 2001, when the

Department ended its old lottery system for vendor permits in these

parks pursuant to the New York City Administrative Code. This

dramatic increase in the number of vendors has resulted in changed

conditions in certain parks, which required the Department to develop

regulations in order to strike a balance between expressive matter

vendors and other park visitors, and address other concerns related to

maintaining and operating open space under the jurisdiction of the

Department.

For example, expressive matter vendors at Union Square Park have

increased, and continue to increase, in number to the point where they